The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-19
THE SECRET OF L1oN-TAM1NG.
Cow the Difficult School is Conducted
An Expensive Matter.

Cow the Difficult School is Conducted
An Expensive Matter.
A reporter of the Pail Mall Gazette has
interviewed NJ Bidel, the French lion
t.n,er. with the following result:
How did you come to be lion-tamern
u was bred to tho business My father
tent show. began to enter the cages
when | was quite child. I began with
wolves. hyenas and other small fry. At Is
left my parents, and Travelled about the
country with other shows In 1859 I
was at Bayenne with the Bauarbo nlenage-
rio A Young roya! Bengal tiger got
loose. You can imagine the state OF tine
Inhabitants | was sent for. | looked
for the beast some time, and found him at
last in a blacEsmiths shop. went I'D TO
hin, caught him by the throat with one
hand. and with the other threw MIN on my
shoulders and carried him back to his cage.
carried him 300 yards. Ny back was con
sderahlv damaged. | was - years old
then ami il was from that moment | date
my veritable career. | had faced danger.
knew what it was, and did not fear it. |
immediately began to tameaions, honesses
tigers. polar bears, panthers, ETC.
7.Yoi smoke, | see, | said. as | lighted
cigarette from the one he held in his hand
Tobacco does not unsteady your nerves.,
Certainly not. It is true, do not smoke
uuch Twelve cigarettes at most a day.
No No cogllac, thank you. | have taken
INV little glass. and that is all the alcohol
shall touch till the same time tomorrow
Alcohol is the very worst thing a man in
my profession can make bad use of. The
beasts seem to know when a man has taken
100 much One would fancy they can dis
crlminate between real courage and that
bravado which you call Dutch courage. All
These accidents which you read about in the
pauels are caused by the drunkenness of
iion-tamers, who bring their courage up to
the sticking point by excessive drinking |
rake no alcohol at all except what you Just
saw me take. If am ever offered drink
take glass Of milk, beerTvery rarely. To
master these brutes l have to begin by being
completely master of myself"
THE SECRET OF LION TANNING
what means do you employ to tame
your aninals.'
NV complete self-confidence and nv
courage ! consider these the only means
Red hot irons. arms, loaded whips are the
indictments Of the charlatau OF OF the cow
ard | have never made use of anything
more formidable than an ordinary riding
whip And, please observe, | only work
with full-grOwn animals captured in a wild
state and not, like my confrereS, with
beasts born in the r2enageTie, and brought
up by bitches or with a sucking-bottle
When the Prince and Princess of
Wales visited my establishment
in 1878, at the time of the exhibition, | en-
tered the cage in their presence and in the
presence of Gambetta, Emile de Girardin
and others, and mastered six full grown
African lions whom had received that day
and who were as ferocious as any | have
ever had to do with Sultan, too, the lion
whose portrait you see over the fireplace,
nh, Ill
six years old-that is, in his prme-when |
entered his cage for the first time. That
was down at Lyons in September, 1876.
The previous day he had killed a man called
Vicard, and nv performance was given in
favor of Eicards widow and orphan. vi
card was railway porter, and had been
foolish enough to put his hand into the lions
travelling box at the statiOn-Sultan
had Just arrived from Africa that morning
Sultan seized his arm and tore it off bodily.
The man died the same night. Before TWEEN
ty-fOur hours had elapsed | had entirely
subiugated this man-killer. | worked regu-
larry with him twice day for ten years.
It was just year ago that he attacked me,
and nearly killed me- | was suffering from
rheumatic pains that day and happened to
slip. A lion tanner must never fall Lions
have not your English notions about re
specting fallen foe. The brute was on me
like a shot, and got me by the neck. |
caught him by the throat and shouted, Sui
tam Sultan! what are you doingf My
voice frightened him, doubtless, for he
opened his jaws and lOosened his hold with
out tearing out the flesh Ii he had done
that l should inevitably have been
killed He then seized me by the
arm, and afterwards by the thigh,
woundng me besides with Lis claws in three
other places. / managed. however, in spite
Of my terrible wounds. to struggle to my
i .x,f
him. Since then, however, | have not en-
tered the cages. l have been terribly
shaken and reduced in strength. 1t will be
some time before | shall have sufficient
nerve TO approach Sultan once more. No,
| DO not believe in that nonsense that is
talked about it being impossible to do any
thing with animals who have tasted human
blood, or have seen it. If | did, | should
have retired from business long ago. | have
been bitten and torn over and over again,
and have often continued my performance
with my blood streaming all over me. The
brutes appreciate my courage and are afraid
OF lie, because they see that am not afraid
Of them. This is the whole secret Of lion
tanning.
THE EYE Is HUMBUG.'
DO you believe in the power of the eye'
There is a man at the olies-Bergeres who
processes to tame lions by the power of fas-
INSTRUMENTATION. What is your opin-
lon of this profession"
II consider it charlatanisn of the purest
water. The animals are doubtless tame
brutes, born in the cage. | do not believe
IN the power of the eye A blind man
could he as good liOn-tamer, II he had the
requisite pluck, as any other man, | my
self am shortsighted. and. as you will see,
possess no very quelling eyes,"
Very handsome ones, though, all the
same, / thought, as | glanced at NJ. Bidel
and admired his tine dark eyes, somnolent-
looking, though, and half closed. Such eyes
had surely quelled Mrs. Bundle where
Bumbie failed
You are looking for the traces of my
combat with Sultan said Mr.. Bidel, turn
ing his head round and disclosing beneath
The hair Oh his neck most formidable cica-
trlce half foot long if an inch, as cruel
wound as any l have ever seen. That
one. | have ten other such on my body.
No. he continued, Il do not believe in
fascination. The voice, the tone Of COM
nand, is great-the principal-instrument
In lion tanning. Articulate sounds seem to
amaze them
That is So" put in Mr.. Aiexiano, '.the
voice, c'est tout The eye is humbug. Why
VERY often turn my back on one or other
OF the brutes in the cage. Command them,
stand up to them, show them you are not
AFRAID and they will buckle under"